Recent development in manufacturing industries enables mass production of goods with high productivity at lower costs, and is accompanied with an increase in consumption, causing an explosive increase in freight transportation. Such an increase in freight transportation is not only limited to the relationship between manufacturers and final consumers, but is also found in the relationship between the manufacturers and (in the relationship between the manufacturers and) intermediary consumers.
In particular, since the freight transportation between the manufacturers or between the manufacturers and the intermediary consumers is relatively large in quantity of delivery at a time, a transportation cost therebetween finally acts as one of the most important factors in determination of a prime cost.
Accordingly, there are needs of vehicle dispatch capable of achieving delivery of goods in an optimal condition, but various restrictive conditions, such as types, quantity, forwarding locations, and assignment locations of the goods for delivery, make it difficult to establish an optimal vehicle dispatch schedule which can satisfy all the restrictive conditions.
Due to a number of variables and restrictive conditions which must be considered prior to computing of the optimal vehicle dispatch schedule, the vehicle dispatch schedule has been usually established on the basis of field experiences of planners rather than an optimal solution obtained by use of mathematic programming or a computer system, causing low efficient vehicle dispatch in view of loading rates of vehicles, and a resultant increase in transportation cost.
In this regard, some of conventional techniques propose employment of computer systems and satellite tracking systems for automated and real-time vehicle dispatch.
Such conventional techniques have merits in the case where there are needs of rapid delivery of freight or in the case where there are needs of delivery of freight, which is ordered in a small quantity at a time and requires a single vehicle to pass by many assignment locations for the delivery of freight. Therefore, the conventional techniques are evaluated inappropriate for delivery of freight which is ordered in the larger quantity at a time and requires a long distance delivery. For example, when sending primary products to factories in several places for final machining of the primary products or when sending final products to wholesalers as intermediary consumers, the conventional techniques are inappropriate.
Accordingly, there are needs of the improvement in a method and system for performing optimal vehicle dispatch.